The «Mortati case» and the elections of 18 April 1948 In the history of the Italian Republic, one early page has remained

In the history of the Italian Republic, one early page has remained, if not entirely unknown, at least neglected: that of the re-election or non-election of the members of the Constituent Assembly in the first Parliament of the Republic, during the elections of 18 April 1948. On that occasion, 156 of the 556 members of the Assembly did not return to their seats in Montecitorio. In the ranks of the Christian Democratic party, there was a sensational case concerning a deputy who had been one of the most influential members of the Constituent Assembly, to be counted with good reason among the authors of the Constitution: the jurist and professor Costantino Mortati. This article intends to shed further light on this exclusion, including on the basis of a recently found archival document.